Shirt case



March 20, 1945.,

N. l. PAULSEN 2,371,841

SHIRT CASE Filed Dec. 15, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 20, 1945.

N. l. PAULSEN SHIRT CASE Filed Dec. 15, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March ZO,1945.

N. PAULSEN 2,371,841

SHIRT CASE Filed Dec. 15, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 20, 1945UNITED STATES AT OFFICE i 2.371341 l 1 S T ciAsn I Need I. Paulsen, St.Louis Park, Minn. pp c n De e ,1341, Serums), 422.459

Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in packaging and, moreparticularly, to a case for holding an individual shirt.

One of the objects oi this invention is to pro vide a self-containedcase for holding a iolded-inv idividual shirt having anattached collar.

Another object ofthe invention-isto provide a self-contained shirt caseioldable from a single sheet of material.

Still another object of this invention is to pro yi'de aself-containedcase for holding a'iolded'individual shirt having anattached collar, said case having means :for holdingand supporting thecol.- lar thereof. r 7 Other objects of the invention will be, apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings. 1

To the above and. generally stated. he inven tion consists of the novelconstructionand are ran emen o parts her inafter esc ibed and defined inthe claims! In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate theinvention, like cha aeters ndiea e like pa thr u hout. t s v ral vie s-Beier ine to e d awings:

F 1 is a op lan vi w o th mp oved shi t case having a shirt providedwith an attached collar folded therein;

. Fig. 2 is a hack plan view of e s me;

. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the improved shirt case and also showinga second shirt case turned n fo e pside down and p a ed o he fi st otesh e t llustra e t e method of stacking the improved shirt easee;

Fig 4 is an upper endvie shirt case; I' i is a we end ie o he am Fig. 6is a view partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal central sectiontaken on the line 6-'6 oi Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale;

r the improved Fig. 7 is a new corresponding to Fig.1, with theexception that some parts are broken away and sectioned, in part, toexpose the shirt in the case;

' Fig. 8 is a view partly in elevation and partly in transverse verticalsection taken on the line 8-48 of Fig. 1, some parts being shown indifferent positions by means of broken lines;

- Fig. 9 is a view partly in elevation and partly in transverse verticalsection taken on the line 9?-9 ofFig. 1;

(cl-.aiifiii shirt eas and show n the respeetivecq ner is I en he s e-es ndicat d by iennine eeer Pla t partl nen;

Eis- 1.2,. is a enyiew. one. reduced sca e. f he hee at ea dterd esimila materi l as the same names rom a die and whth shee w e ed b okelines. f rm the improved shirt case; i

1 e- 1.311s a i aementarry'topn an i w'showing a ,nidiflee eno 'thimproved sh rt ease: and V F g- 14 i a ragmen ary detail view in sectionteken'enthe line. H l itie- 1.3.0 1 an. enlarged M impreved ,sh rtfe seis fo me rema sin le sh e A ardboard or'asi n ioldab e material o sufliient ane etre eth to give the shir e se t e'reti red r dity t0 h ta dordinary rough h nd ng. w ile b ing delivered f e nalaun ry t a customerr r m ma u actu er en en j [T sheet. A. a shewn s squ re an a fiessten'dine diagona ly-c the heet b t n t o f s corner is .at'th transvrse te ts: o he shirt case and a line connecting the other two cornersof the s eetn is at t e longitudi al center of s sheet. T assist terminethe. two upper corners o the shi ease; the .lonelitii inal' edgeportions of the sheet A, diverging .ire nthe upper corner r sa d ee areintermed a l cut o rm two no c s 3 a d to in i rmine the wo l e co er ofe s irt a he ong t d nal edg portions oi the sheet A, divergingirom thelower corner of the said sheet, are intermediately cut I to form twonotches G.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary View in horizontal sec tion taken on the line[BF-l0 of Fig. 4; i

Fig. 11 isa.fragmentary'perspective view of the upper rightshand-cornerportion of the improved The sheet A is scored 1 tions thereoi, inpart,are identified as follows:' two outer scores D, two innerscoresEgthatextend longitudinally between the notches B and C; two upperscores F and G and two lower scores and I that extend transverselybetween the notches B and C. respectively. Scores 'F and G are paralleland thelatter score is spaced outw'ardlyoith'e former'score. The loweredge portions of the notches B are aligned with'the score Fland theupperends of said notches are at the ends of the score-G.- i

The sheet A is' further J that extend from the ends'of the-score G- tothe score F inwardlyofitsends and are in converging relationfromrthescdre G. Scores D converge slightly from the intermediatecorners of the notches B tosthe' upperedge portions of the notches C andare spacedslightly outwardly of the intermediate corners of the notchesC.

and the shir't form'ing secprovided'with twoscores so that the widthformed by folding the sheet A on the scores F, G and J. V-shaped sectionof the sheet A outwardly of the score G, when folded inwardly on thescore G, affords a collar-supporting wing 16 that underlies the topmember of the shirt case. The upper edge portion of the notches C arealigned with the score H; the score I is parallel to the score H andspaced outwardly thereof. The lower end member I! is formed by foldingthe sheet A inwardly on the scores H and I. It will be noted that thedistance between the ends of the scores D and E at the matches C is thesame as the width of the lower end member H. The top member l8 of theshirt case is formed by folding the sheet A downwardly on the scores EE,and the side members IQ of said case are formed by further folding thesheet A inwardly on the scores D. V-shaped sections of the sheet Aoutwardly of the scores D, when said sheet is folded to form the sidemembers 19, afford bottom wings 20 that extend in'opposite directionsunder the shirt case in overlapping relation. When the sheet Ais foldedto form the end member H, the V-shaped section of said sheet, outwardlyof the score I, aifords a further bottom wing 2| that is overlapped atits edge portions by the bottom Wings 20. s

It will be noted that the lower end member I! is very narrow, in respectto the upper end member 16, and that the top member 18 slopes upwardlyfrom said lower member. The purpose of this is to give the shirt caseadditional depth at its upper end portionfor the collar of the shirt inthe case. In some instances, it might be desirable to fold the sheet Aonly on'the score H of the lower end member of the shirt case is verynarrow. The side members 'I 9 slope inwardly and upwardly and the widthof the top member [8 at its upper end portion is substantially the sameas the transverse width of the collar of the shirt'and the inclined sideI9 holds the shirt collar against lateral shifting movement in the shirtcase. p

The v-shaped sections of the sheet Abetween the scores F and J areintermediately scoredat K and afford accordion 'plaits 22 that connectthe upper end member 15 at its end to the side memhers I 9, at theirupper ends.

When the sheet A is. folded to form the shirt case, the accordion plaits22 extend into the shirt case and lie against the sloping sides thereof.It will be noted, by reference to Fig. 12, that the upper wings of theaccordion plaits 22 are somewhat narrower than the lower wings thereof,so that when said plaits are folded into the shirt case, they will drawthe upper end member l inwardly between the side members 19 so that saidside members reston the ends of the end member [5 and afiord a boxstructure that reinforces the shirt case to withstand side pressure. v rThe bottom wings 20, when folded,.are separably connected, as shown bya. lock comprising a transverse slot 23 in one of said wings throughwhich the end portion of the other of said wings is inserted, and anotch 24 in the last noted wing into which the wing having the slot 23extends. The shirt X having an attached collar Y, as the same comes fromthe ironer, is folded on a folding board, not shown, in the customarymanner in which the sleeves thereofqare folded onto the back of theshirt with the cuffs under the collar Y. The body portion of the shirtis then folded longitudinally, at the edges of the bosom, inwardly uponthe back of the shirt and the one upon the other. Next, the tail portionof the shirt is folded inwardly upon the body of the shirt. Said shirtis again folded inwardly upon itself to bring its folded tail portioninto an indown and placed on said sheet with its bosom and collarresting on the inner surface of the top member l8. The steps of foldingthe sheet A are substantially as follows: First, the accordion plaitsare folded and the sheet A folded on the ,score F to bring said plaitsinto the shirt case and the end member and the collar support l6 into anupright position. Next the collar support I6 is folded inwardly on thescore G and over the collar Y at the back thereof and under the cuifs ofthe shirt X. The sheet A is then folded on the score H to bring the endmember I! and the bottom wing 2| into upright positions. It may be herestated that at'the time the end member l5 and the plaits 22 are foldedinto operative positions, the sheet A is also folded on the scores EE tobring the side members into operative positions in which they extendupwardly and outwardly. Next, the sheet A is folded on the score H to.bring the end member I! and the bottom wing'2l into upright positionsand thereafter said wing is folded on the score I inwardly onto thefolded shirt X. The bottom wing 20, having the lock slot 23, is nextfolded on the respectivescore D, inwardly onto the folded shirt X andthereafter the other bottom wing 20 is folded on the respective score Dinwardly onto said shirt and the first noted bottom wing 20 and its freeend 40 portion inserted through the lock slot 23 and its notch 24interlocked with said first noted bottom wing 20.

The member it; affords a support on which the collar Y at its backportion rests and the end member [5 afiords asupport for the top memberl8 and holds the same above the collar Y and thus prevents said collarfrom being crushed or wrinkled by pressure applied on said top member.

Obviously, the bottom wing 2| isheld in operative position by theoverlapping bottom wings 20 and in place of the lock 23-24, theoverlapped wings 20 may be connected in any other suitable manner, forinstance, by means of a gummed label or a piece of gummed tape.

When the laundry has more than one shirt for a customer, the shirtcases, each of which contains a singleshirt, may be stacked, as shown inFig. 3, and tied in a bundle by a piece of string or gummed tape orWrapper passed therearound.

To further reinforce the shirt case and thereby afford furtherprotection to its collar Y, a support 25 is cut andpressed from the topmember l8 at the transverse center thereof. This support 25, as the sameappears before being pressed from the member l8, has a wide free end andthe sides thereof are in converging relation toward the point ofattachment of said support with the top member l8 and at which pointsaid support is relatively narrow. The top member 48 is scored at L,between the sides of the support 25 at the attached end thereof, and itsfree end and the score L extend parallel to the score F. A single scoreM extends .transversely across the support '25, at-itslongitudinalcenter and two I and extends around therein, and said case turned rightside ups To fold the support 25 into an operative position, the same, isfirst. lifted .out of the opening formed :in the top member 18 bycutting said supporttherefrom, by ahinge-like movement on .the score L,

as shown by broken lines in Fig. 8.. The. opening in the top member l8,formed by cutting and liftaffords .a: sight ing the support 25therefrom, opening 26, for a purpose which willpresentlyappear. 1 1Withthe support 25 in an upright position, as shownv in- Fig:& its free-jendportion is folded on the score M downwardly towardthe sight opening Y26and onto .the respective side of the attached portionof'said support.Thisfolding of the support 25 upon itselfaffords a two-- ply reinforcedstructure. v,Next, the-side portions of the support 25 are foldedonthescoresN away from the sight opening 2B,and then thesupport 25 ismoved witha hinge like movement on the score M through the sight opening26 and into an the inside and at front.,-thereof. The support 25, whenin an operative position, rests at its folded lower end, on the back ofthe shirt within the collar band. When the support 25 is released, afterbeing placed in an operative position within the shirt case, its freeside portions will spring toward the collar band and closely follow thecontourthereof. The support 25 holds the top member l8 out of contactwith the collar Y and thereby protects said collar from pressure appliedon'the top member 18 from the outside of the shirt case.

Referring again to the sight opening 26, it is well known that shirts,upon delivery to a laundry, aregiven an identifying mark as to theowner, and this mark is placed on the back of the collar band on theinside thereof. .Shirts, after being laundered, are folded andusuallywrapped before sorted as to ownership and the wrapping must besuch that the identifying mark on the collar band is visible. In the useof my improved shirt case, a laundered shirt is first .folded and thenthe shirt case folded therearound and secured as heretofore described,With a shirt thus wrapped in my improved shirt case, the identifyingmark theregn is clearly visible through the sight opening 2 To furtherprotect the shirt collar Y so that it will retain its shape as the samecomes from the ironer, a plain band 21 of the same material as the shirtcase or any other suitable material is placed between the shirt band andthe support said band on each side of the support 25, see Fig. 6.

To still further protect the shirt collar Y the :25 upright positionin-the. shirt case close-to the collar band on "first foldingthesameinwardly onthe-scores go between; said F om same comes from the ironer.

The-wings to side;v portions :of. the support 28 are inserted undeitithe'lapels'of the shirt collar Y by .P to contract the normal width thereofsufficiently to lapels and then'the support 281s .folded downwardlyonthe score .0 until the wings ofithe support28 arebelow the lapels ofthe collar Y. 'Upon'releasing the collar support 28, when positioned asabove described, its wings will spring .into, their original positionand'thereby be projected underthelapels of the collar Y. Thesupport 28will: also spring upwardly toward its original-pojsition and therebycause the wings to pro- 'ducea liftingacticn' on the lapels of thecollar-Y and thus hold theqsame suspended in the shirt case. .331. I p vthe above: des ription, it is evident-that theimproved shirt; case,which holds a. folded individual shirt havin tectsthe same, againstsoiling] and wrinkling, and the collarv thereofis protected andsupported in a manner in which-:it willretain its shape as the v v Oneof the many advantagesof. my. improved shirt case is that a shirt may bekept therein up be worn andthewearerthereof may readily see the style,and color thereof. through the sight opening 26,-beforethe shirt isremoved from the case. The improved shirt case also affords a convenientpackage for a shirt when carrying the same in a bag, suitcase, trunk orthe like.

Referring now to the modification of my improved shirt case, as shown inFigs. 13 and 14, the parts thereof that correspond to like parts shownin Figs. 1 to 12 inclusive, are given like reference characters followedby a prime The structure disclosed in Figs. 13 and 14 is identical withthe structure disclosed in Figs. 1 to 12, inclusive, with the exceptionof the added collar supports 29 that are cut and pressed from the topmember l8 at the sides of the sight opening 26. These collar supports 29extend downwardly in the shirt case within the collar band and engagesaid band and support the collar.

The drawings illustrate a commercial form of the invention, but' it willbe understood that the same is capable of certain modifications as todetails of construction, arrangement and combinations of parts withinthe scope of the invention herein disclosed,

The word cardboard is herein used in a broad I sense to cover anysuitable foldable material.

same, at its lapels, is held suspended by a collar support 28 cut andpressed from the top member Hi just below the sight opening 26. Thiscollar support 28 has substantially the same outline as the support 25except that it is smaller in size, extends in the opposite directiontherefrom and its attached end is relatively close to the attached endof the support 25. The attached end of the collar support 28 is scoredparallel to the score L, as indicated at O, and said support is furtherscored in two places, as indicated at P. The

scores P extend from the ends of the score 0- longitudinally of saidsupport to the free end thereof and'are in converging relation from saidscore 0.

Also the word score is used in a broad sense to cover any. means forweakening the sheet on a given line to facilitate the folding thereof.

What I claim is:

' l. A case for holding therein a shirt having an attached collar andfolded with its back under lying the opening formed by the band of thecollar, said case having a top member, and an attached support cut andpressed from the top member overlying the collar band opening, saidsupport being folded into the case in an upright position at the frontof the collar band, said support resting on the back of the shirt andsupporting the top member therefrom to prevent the collar from beingcrushed by pressure tending to flatten the case. 2. .A case for holdingtherein a shirt having an attached collar and folded with its backunderlying the opening formed by the band of the collar, said casehaving a top member, and a support cut and pressed from the top memberoverlying the eollar band opening, said support having a relativelynarrow neck portion attached to the an attached collar, prot0 the timeit is to 'top member, said support and its neck portion be- -memberoverlying mg folded into'the case in an upright position, said supportaiso'being folded between it neck portion and thecollar band at thefront thereof, said support resting on the back of the shirtandsupporting the top the shirt from'being crushed by pressure tending toflatten the case.

'3. A case for holding therein a shirt having an attached collar andfolded with its back underlying the opening formed by the band of thecolmember therefrom to prevent lar, said case having a top member, amain supporting band within the collar band opening, engaging the collarband at the front thereof, and resting on the back of the shirt, and anattached auxiliary support I the shirt band opening, said auxiliarysupport being folded into the case in an upright position against themain support at the front of the collar band, said auxiliary supportresting on the back of the shirt and together with the main support,supports the'top member from the back of the shirt to prevent the collarfrom being crushed by pressure tending to flatten the case. l

4. A substantially square sheet of foldable material forming anelongated case that is materially deeper at its upper end than at itslower end and cut and pressed from the top extending between'the notchesand the corners tnat ha'sinwardly and upwardly converging side's,

' said sheet having a notch in each of its edge portions, the twonotches at the upper end of the case being relatively shallow and the.two notches at the lower end thereof being relatively deep. the

verse scores extending between the corners of the shallow notches andbetween the outer ends of the converging edge portions thereof, atransverse score extending between the corners of the deep notch, a pairof converging longitudinal scores corners of the shallow of the deepnotches, a pair of diverging longitudinal scores between said convergingscores and extending between the upper transverse score and the cornersof the deep notches, and a pair of short outwardly diverging scoresbetween the two and extending from the upper transverse scores upperends of the two "diverging longitudinal scores and the outer-ends "ofthe outermost upper transverse score.

5. The structure defined in claim 4 further including a pair of shortoutwardly diverging scores between the first noted short scores at theinnermost upper transverse score.

- NEAL I. PAULSEN.

